Why “screw that?” Because sometimes you read something so ridiculous in recipe that you have to curse.
We will be signing a lease on a new house that has a ceramic glass stove top. I have heard anecdotaly that you cannot cook using a cast iron pan on one of these stove tops. So of course I google to see what types of pans are appropriate on this type of stove top. It may be interesting to know that in America if you are purchasing a new stove and it is an electric stove the glass stove tops are the only options. Have a coil stove now? You have to special order the coils as they are widely out of circulation.
Here are some of the limitations of this “advanced” technology that I found on a dizzying comment thread regarding this topic.
Do not “slide” pots or pans around on the ceramic top, you must pick up the pots or pans and place them where you want them. Sliding them can cause cuts or scrapes on the glass.
Always use proper pan size for the cooking area you are using…to determine proper pan size, it would be the size of the pan compared to the size of the cooking area, always try to match the pan as close as possible to the size of the burner.
Never operate the cooking areas without having a pan on them.
Always keep utensil handles turned inwards towards the stove, not outwards where they can be bumped.
Pans that have a uneven bottom or are warped or “grooved” do not work as well as smooth bottom pans, and will tend to cook slower and in a uneven manner.
Do not taunt happy fun ball comes to mind. Are freaking kidding me? What’s the point of having a stove that you’re afraid to use. There are countless stories of people (gasp!) having their food boil over in the pan and the stove top is irreparable. Who makes this shit? Words do not describe how scared I’m going to be to cook. I’m going to have to buy plug-in electric burners to do canning or any of the other tasks which may taunt the cooktop. Screw it!!
I just got a new high tech cordless electric mower and I’m scared to even think of the limitations I’m going to encounter
I think these warnings might be something akin to mattress tags – the warnings sound important, but actually you can disregard most of it. The thing about turning handles inward is standard kitchen safety advice, no matter what kind of stove you have.
The thing about not being able to use cast iron is alarming, though. That’s what we always use, and we’ve been talking about getting a new stove. More investigation is required.
LOL Davis. Keep us posted.
Lola, if you click on the link there seem to be legitimate horror stories with this type of surface. I think there are three different threads on that site on that particular topic. Granted, I am a bit of a worrier as you know. 🙂
Hm! I’ve cooked with my Le Creuset enamel-coated cast iron thing a lot… never had any problems. I try to keep the pan size semi-similar to the burner size. I avoid having stuff spill over because it’s annoying to clean, but it won’t ruin the stovetop.
My ideal stove is probably gas… ah well!
Vinny, what a relief. I have been worried about my favorite Le Creuset dutch oven which I practically use every day. It’s pretty wide but I think it’ll be okay. You’ve put my mind at ease.
I use a Le Creuset dutch oven on our glass topped stove sometimes, and haven’t had a problem either. I’ve also successfully canned jams & pickles, with no ill effect. You should be a little careful (don’t drop / slam the pots on the glass), but that’s probably good advice for any stove! I hate that stove, though, and how long it takes to heat up–I miss my 15 year old gas stove from Somerville.
Just talked to a saleman at Sears and he says that if you boil over while canning you have to clean it up quickly cause the sugar will make bubbles in the glass.
Don’t worry, people make mountains out of mouse poop. Spills on stove do not break the glass. They WILL keep cooking on the surface, so turn it off immediately. One inch bigger or smaller than the burner is fine. Handles Do not heat up under most conditions. If the entire handle is inside the cooking area, yes, but that would have to be one tiny pot! Mine has four burners with large and small burner left and a large and small on the right. There is a large/small toggle switch left and right as well. So I must be able accommodate four different pan /pot sizes, right? The ingenius addition of the toggle is wasted by the fact that the big burners on small match the size of the small ones you have, and the small ones are not affected by the switch at all. The pot/burner size ratio must not be that big of a deal or they would have a better way to accommodate for it. Turn it on, turn it up and turn it out. The tricky part is for things that need low temperatures, not high.
You know what, I am going to join you in your screw that rant. Because I love cooking to a degree that I cannot fully realize because I have something called a full time job and no professional training, but I’m with you. Advanced should mean “better” or “greater” than what is “older” or “previous” and that’s a load of hooey if you can’t do basic cooking moves (like sliding a pan back and forth over a burner) which you were always able to do on an electric element and with gas. I just bought a house that came with a glass stove. It’s almost pristine. Welp, not for long I guess because I am going to cook the crap out of this stove.
I see you don’t monetize your blog, don’t waste your traffic,
you can earn additional cash every month
because you’ve got high quality content. If you want
to know how to make extra $$$, search for: best adsense alternative Wrastain’s tools
There are some disadvantages to cast iron, but there are some cookware pots and pans for glass top stoves that are very useful but must be used properly. Otherwise, the use of inappropriate cookware is more likely to be damaged.
Well I just got a glass top stove a little over a month ago. There are some limitations on it, just as with anything else. There are far more glass or invection style cooktops than coil; and I’m not running a gas line just because I can’t slide a pan back and forth….which i don’t do anyway lol. Simple answer: don’t boil over stuff when you’re cooking. Having said that, I haven’t tried making jam on this thing yet, so I may change my mind in the fall when that time rolls around. I may just get a plug in coil burner large enough to handle my stock pot for jam if the risk of damage is that high. No biggie-I like the glass top better.